Transcriptomic Profiling of Heat-Treated Oriental Lily Reveals <i>LhERF109</i> as a Positive Regulator in Anthocyanin Accumulation
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Pink-flowered Oriental lily cultivars exhibit significant color fading under high temperature, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. We subjected Oriental lily ‘Souvenir’ plants to temperature treatments (20°C and 35°C) and performed transcriptome sequencing and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). High temperature (35°C) significantly reduced anthocyanin content in tepals. Transcriptome analysis identified 8,354 differentially expressed genes, with GO and KEGG analyses revealing a dynamic transition from early stress responses to metabolic adaptation. WGCNA revealed a module strongly correlated with anthocyanin content, from which we constructed a gene co-expression network using known anthocyanin-related genes, including the key transcription factor LhMYB12 and structural genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (LhANS, LhDFR, LhUGT78, and LhF3’H). Through this comprehensive network analysis, we successfully identified and screened LhERF109 as a promising regulatory candidate. Functional characterization through transient overexpression of LhERF109 enhanced anthocyanin accumulation and upregulated biosynthetic genes including LhMYB12, while silencing produced opposite effects. These findings identify LhERF109 as a positive regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis under high temperature, providing new targets for breeding heat-tolerant lilies with stable flower coloration.